


Winds of Peace

by Mareel



Series: Always [28]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Canada, Childhood Memories, Destroy Ending, Family, Food, Home, Hope, M/M, Orchard, Post-Canon, Post-Mass Effect 3, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:19:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4854461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mareel/pseuds/Mareel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome home!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winds of Peace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [potionsmaster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/potionsmaster/gifts).



> The takes place approximately 8 months after the Reaper War was won. John and Kaidan are visiting Kaidan's mother at her orchard home in central British Columbia. This is Elena Alenko's voice.
> 
> It was written for potionsmaster, who made a request on Tumblr for an alternate POV for the story [Warm Winds](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4824938). My thanks to her for the suggestion!

 

John says he has never lived in a house. 

I knew his parents were both Alliance, but I hadn't realized that he'd spent his whole childhood on ships. And a lot of his adult life too. I'd imagine that gives you a different perspective on the idea of 'going home'. 

He and Kaidan have a flat in London and John said that Admiral Anderson had wanted him to have his apartment on the Citadel. But that's not the same to him as being able to walk out the door and be outside in your own yard. 

"We've been staying at a rental house near Vancouver for the past week or so. I could get used to that."

"Yeah, it's been nice. Not the kind of view we used to have, Mom, but any glimpse of English Bay looks good to me. We might have to go further up the coast though, if we decide to settle in the area."

"There'll be time for that, little one. You don't have to decide right away." Of course I can't resist adding my own hopes. "It would be good to have you two living that close though. I know the orchard is too far from everywhere you probably need to go, but Vancouver..."

"I don't think we really know what we'll be doing... or where. I'm still on medical leave... Not sure when that will end."

I hear the uncertainty creeping into his voice. He's pretty self-conscious about his injuries, even here where no one expects him to be Commander Shepard. Kaidan must have noticed it too, since he takes John's hand in his and moves close enough that their shoulders are touching.

"Well, the Council might have plans for their human Spectres, but I've been stalling them a bit since John isn't ready to take on missions yet. But I'm not going to let Council business decide where we're going to live. That's our choice."

John nods his agreement. "We still have the apartment on the Citadel. That wing didn't take much damage, so there's always the option to stay there when we're needed."

_______________________

 

Kaidan suggests that it might be good to show John around the house. I'd noticed something right away when we came inside – you can take the man off the battlefield but you never take the soldier out of the man. I recognize John's need to be aware of his surroundings, even when it's just a farmhouse. Michael was the same way, especially right after a deployment. 

In the family room, his gaze lingers longest on the framed family portrait on the mantle. It's the only one I keep out to display. Kaidan was a baby and Michael was a young officer in uniform... smiling at me. Somehow this picture doesn't make me sad, even though some others do. That was a perfect moment in our lives together, and every time I walk by it, I want to smile back at him. 

Kaidan never leaves his side. They share a lot of nonverbal communication, small glances, nods, touches. Maybe that's something that developed when they fought alongside one another. Kaidan seems to know when to offer an arm to help on the stairs without his having to ask. John has a cane but doesn't use it much. 

As we walk around the upstairs, I catch a quiet exchange between them. 

"Yeah, this was my room when I was a kid... doesn't seem like much is changed." 

"Looks comfortable. Nice big window... must get the morning light."

"Yeah, it does. I never started sleeping late in the morning until I left home."

He doesn't mention that we needed to use blackout shades when the migraines got to be too much for him. Those are gone now, thank god, since he's said that his headaches are less frequent now, especially if he's not using his biotics much.

I make sure Kaidan knows the room is for both of them. I can't imagine that they'd want to spend the nights apart. I remember how my little one told me he slept in a chair at John’s bedside in the hospital, night after night, because he couldn't bear to leave John there by himself. 

He nods, understanding... and no doubt noticing that the one obvious change in the room is the bed itself. Actually, I doubt Kaidan could sleep comfortably in his old twin bed anyway. He's not the skinny teenager who last occupied this room. Before... before everything.

_______________________

 

It seems the kitchen is a hit. Or at last the preserves are, and the last jar of last season's apple butter. Kaidan had told me that it was sometimes hard to get John interested in eating much. The pain meds he still takes aren't stomach friendly. Maybe I'll pack up a crate full of fruit preserves to send with them when they go back to Vancouver. 

I shoo them out of the kitchen while I cook. I'm sure they'd stay to chat, and Kaidan would want to help, but I suggest that they might want to take a walk down to the orchard before dinner. Kaidan says he wants to change first... that he thought there might be some jeans in his old closet that would still fit. 

A little while later, when I slip out the back door to snip a few herbs for the roast, they're sitting on the porch steps, heads together. I guess they never made it to the orchard. That wide step was always Kaidan's favorite spot... I shouldn't be surprised that he'd go right for it. As I told John when they arrived, their time here is theirs – to enjoy doing anything or nothing. He was limping after the groundcar trip made his leg stiffen up, so maybe they decided to wait till tomorrow to visit the orchard. 

I don't want to eavesdrop, but I like the sound of the laugher I'm hearing from them both. John has brought out a side of Kaidan that I'd thought was lost forever when he came back from Jump Zero. He'd been so closed up, keeping his emotions under tight control. When he did sort things out and decided to join the Marines, he was a little more open with his father and me, but he never gave any hint of being involved with anyone. 

But look at him now. Smiling, laughing, so clearly in love. And so loved in return. That much is obvious. 

I didn't have to think very hard about what to cook for their first dinner here. Kaidan would never have forgiven me for anything that wasn't beef. Some things never change with him. Judging by the contents of the box of supplies they brought me from Vancouver, I'm betting that the other sure thing will be bacon tomorrow morning... along with plenty of maple syrup for the pancakes. And he must have thought I'd forget to stock up on his favorite lager. It was his father's favorite too... The two of them went through more than a few beers out on the balcony of the Vancouver flat overlooking the English Bay. Thinking back, I'm so glad they had that time together. 

Not for the first time today, I think about how much Michael would like John. And how proud he would be of the man our son has become.

_______________________

 

The sun is sinking by the time dinner is ready. And, from the sound of the wind chimes, a bit of a front is passing through. There might be rain tonight, though the rest of the week is supposed to be clear. At least the weather is starting to be a little more predictable again. During the war, the smoke drifting eastward affected weather patterns as well as making it hard to breathe on the bad days. 

The sound of those chimes always calms me when my thoughts start going off in that direction. There's still no word of Michael. I don't know how he possibly could have survived the attacks I saw on the news reports. I don't watch them anymore. It's easier to hold onto my bit of hope without those images. A few deep breaths help. Things will be as they are. I have a beautiful son... two wonderful sons... and I want to enjoy every moment while they're here. 

It's time to go tell the boys that dinner is almost ready. They don't even hear me opening the door, and I feel like I'm interrupting something very private. Kaidan's arm is wrapped around John, whose head is resting on Kaidan's broad shoulder. 

They seem to find their own moments of peace together. And that makes me so very happy.

_____________________________________________________

 


End file.
